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I think that the Knicks will ultimately make the playoffs. There is still a bit too much talent on that roster to miss the playoffs outright in a pathetically weak Eastern Conference. I'd love to face them in the first round so that we could wipe the floor with them again.

I think that the Knicks will ultimately make the playoffs. There is still a bit too much talent on that roster to miss the playoffs outright in a pathetically weak Eastern Conference. I'd love to face them in the first round so that we could wipe the floor with them again.

I think that the Knicks will ultimately make the playoffs. There is still a bit too much talent on that roster to miss the playoffs outright in a pathetically weak Eastern Conference. I'd love to face them in the first round so that we could wipe the floor with them again.

I was looking at the standings, and it does look like the Eastern Conference is starting to settle out. Atlanta, Toronto, Washington and maybe Chicago look to be pulling themselves out of the pack and into the playoff spots 3 thru 6. That leaves 7 teams fighting it out for 2 spots. With Brooklyn looking like they may have figured things out, I am not so sure about the Knicks.

What if someone from a school of business or management school were to ask, How did you do this? How did you get the Pacers turned around? Is there a general approach you've taken that can be summarized?

Sometimes I feel like every column I write about bad shooting is a Lynyrd Skynyrd concert and the part where I rant about Josh Smith is “Free Bird.” Everyone knows it’s coming, but I have to do it anyway.

Last summer, I was very excited when Smith entered free agency; I felt that in the proper offense, under the right coach, and alongside the right teammates, something might click and his All-Star potential could finally be unlocked. I have always claimed that if Smith would only focus on offensive rebounding, attacking the basket, and operating on the blocks, he’d be a really great player.

I still feel that way, but Detroit is just not the place, at least right now. It’s an unstable situation, the offensive tactics are unclear at best, and with young bigs like Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond clogging up the paint there’s no room in the Pistons frontcourt. As a result, Smith plays the 3 too much, and in turn he’s taking even more jumpers than he did in Atlanta.

This is like sending Cookie Monster to a rehab run by the Keebler Elves.

What if Smith had landed in a place like Dallas? Something tells me his chart would look different this year. But he’s in Detroit, and I may as well have copied and pasted this chart from his Atlanta days because it feels like a rerun, and this bird has not changed.